May 5, 2026
Yesterday, at 20:35 UTC, U.S. President Donald Trump seemed to announce U.S. military protection for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz:
.. For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these [neutral] Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.
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This process, Project Freedom, will begin Monday morning, Middle East time.
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If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
A stark announcement. U.S. Central Command, the U.S. military in the region, added some splash to it:
U.S. military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.
Iran warned of any such move:
Major-General Ali Abdollahi, Commander of the Khatam Al Anbiya Central Military Command, has warned foreign navies against entering the Strait of Hormuz to escort commercial vessels, Iranian state media reported. He said any such presence could escalate tensions in the strategic waterway, through which a significant share of global oil supplies passes.
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The warning comes after US President Donald Trump announced a naval mission, dubbed Project Freedom, to guide stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Thus the U.S. mountain listened, labored and bore a mice ( archived):
The new effort, which Trump dubbed "Project Freedom," is a process through which countries, insurance companies and shipping organizations can coordinate moving traffic through the Strait, according to a senior U.S. official. It doesn't currently involve U.S. Navy warships escorting vessels through the strait, the official said.
No sane owner, and no insurance company, will allow ships to sail through the Strait with U.S. 'coordination' while Iran opposes such moves.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi @s_m_marandi - 9:44 UTC · May 4, 2026
Iran has declared the area of control in the Strait of Hormuz as defined by the armed forces: from the south, the line between Mount Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE; and from the west, the line between the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE.
One might speculate that Trump really meant to open the Strait and was pulled back by the Navy which is opposed to the bloody mess any attempt to open of the Strait by force would cause. It still did some testing.
During the last hour a U.S. Navy ship apparently tried to enter the Strait near Jask but was diverted after the Iranian military fired two missiles at it. CentCom seems to confirm the attack when it claims that no missile has hit.
Within a few hours the latest attempt by Donald Trump to somehow change the situation in the Strait has failed.
He is still left with three choices:
- Keep up the blockade of Iran (and thus Hormuz) while the global economy deteriorates further;
- Use again military force against Iran with the likely outcome being a worse situation;
- Declare victory and leave.
I suspect Trump will at least try step 2 before giving up and turning to 3.
Reprinted with permission from Moon of Alabama.